New Delhi: The Union Government has initiated a move to trim down the authority of the National Green Tribunal. A preliminary discussion regarding downscaling the judicial powers of NGT has already been taken place. A panel would be formed to reframe the regulatory powers of the tribunal.

From the current status of a legal institution, the government plans to make NGT a governing department. It also has plans to question the powers of the body in SC.

It will be retained as an advisory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

It may be noted that the NGT had cancelled the permission given by the ministry to several large-scale projects. The Centre says such moves hamper the progress of many developmental schemes.

NGT is the only judicial institution functioning under the SC to deal with topics related to forests and environment. The Kerala Government is planning to approach the SC against the intervention of NGT in Vizhinjam port project. According to reports, the Centre is joining the case as a party.

Washington: Russian hackers stole 1.2 billion Internet credentials from major US companies and others around the world in what is likely the biggest data breach ever, security researchers said Tuesday.

The US firm Hold Security said the gang which it dubbed 'CyberVor' collected confidential user names and passwords were stolen from some 420,000 websites, ranging from household names to small Internet sites.

'As long as your data is somewhere on the World Wide Web, you may be affected by this breach,' Hold said in a statement on its website.

'Your data has not necessarily been stolen from you directly. It could have been stolen from the service or goods providers to whom you entrust your personal information, from your employers, even from your friends and family.'

The security firm, which specializes in research on large data breaches, said the cybergang acquired databases of stolen credentials from fellow hackers on the black market, and then installed malware that allowed them to gain access to many websites and social media accounts.

'To the best of our knowledge, they mostly focused on stealing credentials, eventually ending up with the largest cache of stolen personal information, totaling over 1.2 billion unique sets of e-mails and passwords,' the researchers said.

'The CyberVors did not differentiate between small or large sites. They didn?t just target large companies; instead, they targeted every site that their victims visited. With hundreds of thousands sites affected, the list includes many leaders in virtually all industries across the world, as well as a multitude of small or even personal websites.'

The researchers dubbed the hacker group CyberVor, using the Russian word 'vor,' for thief.

The New York Times first reported the breach, and said the group of hackers based their operation in south central Russia, a flanked by Kazakhstan and Mongolia, the report said.

The Times said the group includes fewer than a dozen men in their 20s and that their computer servers are believed to be in Russia.

'There is a division of labor within the gang,' Hold Security founder Alex Holden is quoted as saying.

New Delhi: Leading from the front, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday advanced to the Lok Sabha speaker's podium along with other party MPs demanding a debate on increasing incidents of communal clashes in the country.

As soon as the house met, the opposition parties led by the Congress raised slogans demanding a debate on the communal riots in Uttar Pradesh and the introduction of the bill against communal violence.

Minutes later, Gandhi lead a group of Congress parliamentarians to the speaker's podium, following which Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the house till noon.

Talking to mediapersons after coming out of the house, Gandhi accused the speaker of not allowing the opposition to speak.

'We are asking for a discussion but there is a mentality in the government that discussion is not acceptable,' Gandhi said.

'There is a mood in parliament that only one man's voice counts for anything in this countrya only one voice is being heard,' he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, termed Gandhi's aggression as 'frustration'.

'There is a procedure laid out and the speaker has to follow it. These accusations against the speaker depict the utter frustration of the Congress and they do not want to participate in any debates,' party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.

Lok Sabha adjourned till noon

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till noon Wednesday following a ruckus created by the opposition parties over communal riots in Uttar Pradesh.

Raising slogans and demanding the introduction of the bill against communal violence, the Congress sought a debate on the issue.

Hyderabad: Two labourers hired by red sander smugglers were killed when police opened fire in a forest area of Andhra Pradesh's YSR Kadapa district, police said Wednesday.

The incident took place after midnight in Gadela forests in Obulavaripalle mandal of the district.

A joint party of police and forest officials engaged in combing operations against red sander cutters spotted a group of labourers hired by smugglers. The labourers hailing from neighbouring Tamil Nadu attacked the police and the forest team with stones.

The police opened fire in self-defence, killing two labourers. About 100 other labourers escaped into the dense forests.

It was the latest in a series of clashes between police and red sander cutters in Seshachalam forests spread over Chittoor and Kadapa districts.

On Aug 2, police had gunned down a smuggler, said to be from Tamil Nadu, at Devarakonda in Chittoor district while over 200 others, including hired labourers, escaped.

According to officials, 500 hired labourers and smugglers last week trespassed into Seshachalam forests, known for the precious red sander species.

As many as nine smugglers and hired labourers have been killed in separate incidents in the forests this year.

The police and forest personnel launched a drive to flush out smugglers after the red sander cutters killed two forest officials in December last year.

The rare wood, which fetches Rs.25 lakh per tonne in the international market, is mainly used in aphrodisiac drugs and for making musical instruments and furniture.

Thiruvananthapuram: Sanju Samson, who was named in the national ODI squad on Tuesday, said he was 'extremely happy and thankful' to all those who stood by him.

Samson has been named as a wicket-keeper batsman in the 17-member Indian squad that will play five ODIs and a T20 match against England, when the present five-Test series is over.

'I am extremely happy and am thankful to all who stood by me,' the young cricketer told the media after hearing about his selection.

The other players from Kerala who have represented the country in the past are Tinu Yohanan, Abey Kuruvilla and now disgraced S. Sreesanth.

Of the three, Kuruvilla played for Mumbai, while all the others once represented the Kerala state cricket team.

Samson hails from a coastal hamlet near the international airport. His father Samson Viswanath, who worked as a constable in Delhi Police, took voluntary retirement and returned to the state capital city a few years back to promote the cricketing interests of his two sons, of whom Sanju is the younger.

The news was met with delight by many people.

T.C. Mathew, president of the Kerala Cricket Association, said he was longing to hear this news for a while.

'I am really delighted that he has made it to the senior team. Even though he is just 19 years and short, he carries himself in a very mature manner. He is a highly disciplined person and above all, his humility is his biggest virtue,' Mathew said.

Samson made his debut in the Kerala senior team in 2011. For the past two seasons, he has been a key player for the Rajasthan Royals team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), rubbing shoulders with cricketers like Shane Warne and Shane Watson.

Shoranur: A Class IX student, who attempted to take a selfie by climbing over a train suffered electric shock.

Shihabudhin (14), son of Moidheen of Kizhakke Chathannoor and a student at a local school, was admitted to Thrissur Medical College Hospital. Doctors said he is out of danger.

The accident happened near Shoranur railway station. On seeing the goods train halted near the station, Shihabudhin climbed over it with his mobile phone. Suffering an electric shock from the 250 kv line, he was thrown away.

A passerby Vijayan of Pazhambalakkod, who witnessed the incident, raise an alarm and the local residents assembled at the spot. They alerted the Shoranur police and firemen and the student was rushed to hospital. Further police contacted the school authorities and informed his parents.

'The KSRTC is not using buses that are in service for more than 15 years. At present, the corporation owns a total of 6,083 buses. Of this, 1171 are in service for 13 years while 956 have turned unusable. Accordingly, 3,636 buses alone are fit for operation. The corporation has planned to purchase 1,500 new vehicles. Of this, 1,057 have to be used for existing services, Given this, the KSRTC is not in a position to launch new services,' the minister detailed adding that the statistics he presented was according to the AG's report released in 2003.

New Delhi: Comic book character Chacha Chaudhary's creator Pran Kumar Sharma was a 'versatile cartoonist who brought smiles on the faces of people', Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday, expressing grief at his demise.

'PM described Pran Kumar Sharma as a versatile cartoonist who brought smiles on the faces of people through his rich work,' the official Twitter handle of the PMO said.

Pran, who was suffering from colon cancer for the last one year, died Tuesday. He was 75.

Among the other comic book characters he created were Sabu, Shrimatiji, Pinki and Billoo.